Taipei Times
Date: Aug 11, 2015
By: Sean Lin / Staff reporter
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday attributed the turbidity of tap water in areas
Muddy water flows through the Dabao River in New Taipei City’s Sansia District yesterday. Photo: Lee Ya-wen, Taipei Times
of the city following Typhoon Soudelor to poor soil and water conservation efforts upstream of Nanshih River (南勢溪), saying that water transferred to purification plants had given rise to the problem.
The poor quality of tap water sparked waves of panic buying in Taipei and New Taipei cities over the weekend.
Asked whether the Taipei City Government had been slow to take action to address the tainted water, Ko said that the city government is not at fault, as it has carried out extensive soil and water protection measures along the Beishih River (北勢溪), which flows into the reservoir.
“This is not the first time Taipei has been hit by a typhoon of this magnitude, but the city’s raw water turbidity surpassed 30,000 nephelometric turbidity units [NTU] over the weekend, indicating a problem,” Ko said. [FULL STORY]
